NRL's kick-blocker crackdown changes the game - but the question is do we want that?
NRL kickers are under more pressure than ever. But what will the knock-on effects of the new crack-down be?
Determined not to be embarrassed again, Parramatta players engaged in an honesty session this week ahead of Saturday’s NRL clash with Canberra.
The Eels put in their worst performance in 21 months in their loss to the Sydney Roosters on Sunday, the 48-10 loss their heaviest defeat since August 2015.
While in previous eras coaches responded by hammering players on the paddock following a big loss, the Eels players were made aware of their poor outing – which included 35 missed tackles and just 17 completed sets – in a no-holds-barred video session on Monday.
“No one could hide behind a chair, everyone got put on show,” second-rower Kenny Edwards said.
“We’re all men, grown men, once we walk out of that room it’s all done, get on with training and our energy at training straight after that was good.”
Edwards was most blunt in his description of the team’s performance against the Roosters.
“What we dished up on the weekend was a shit attitude,” he said.
“We haven’t played like that since playing the Roosters in 2014 at Allianz – they put 50 on us that day.
“We’ve got to be better than what we dished up on the weekend because that was just rubbish.”
Most worryingly, Edwards is concerned that Saturday’s disappointment has become something of a trend at the Eels.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak, just as they appeared to be getting their season back on track.
“It’s something we’ve struggled with in the past few years because we go three weeks in a row and think we don’t have to work as hard.”
The Eels were also dealt another blow in the Roosters’ clash when they lost Corey Norman for seven weeks to an ankle injury, however that has been eased by the high-profile mid-season recruit of Mitchell Moses from the Wests Tigers.
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